Teen Titans: A new day
by Firecarryer
Summary: After Things Change, the Titans are attacked during an arrest by inhuman creatures from another world. Drawn into a crossing of dimensions, the Titans must survive a world of powerful beings and forgotten gods. Struggling to tell friend from foe, they must also deal with dangerous new changes to themselves. First Teen Titans story. Shipping BBxRae, RobxStar, future CyborgxOC.
1. Chapter 1

**So this is my first Teen Titans fanfic, and I'm going to apologise in advance if anything I write is too out of character, since I haven't watched the show in a while. So without further ado, here's chapter 1 and I hope you like it. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans.**

"Titans, Go!"

The doors to the bank burst open as the five responded to the standard command. The Titans took up battle positions, surveying the inside to see what emergency they were responding to.

Looking back at them was a group of four, all of whom seemed surprised to see the Titans. "You said we had five more minutes, you lying crud-muncher!" The smallest one snapped, activating his wings and flying into the face of their leader.

"I did nothing of the sort you arrogant brat," He snapped back. "Now quit whining and let's deal with them, or this is the last job I hire you for."

"I don't think so Light," One Titan told him coldly, her voice rough. "I think you need a reminder of our last encounter."

"Take it easy Raven. We need to hand them over to the police intact." The lead Titan reminded the purple cloaked Titan.

"I don't think we need to worry about that Robin. Raven's got great self-control," The green Titan defended her.

"He knows that Beast Boy." The tall armored reminded him. ""Calm down little bud. Robin's not insulting her."

"Perhaps you could assist me in sealing the door Cyborg instead of arguing with our green companion?" A light soprano voice asked. "Robin? Should we perhaps be defeating them rather than debating?"

"You're right Starfire." Robin admitted. He snapped out his long bo staff, and gave the quick set of orders. "Raven, stand guard over Cyborg and Starfire. Beast Boy, with me. Let's go!"

"Not so fast Titans!" Growled Dr. Light. Raising his arms, he sent out two bright flashes followed by a laser barrage.

"Look out!" Robin snapped, rolling to the side as soon as Light raised his arms.

"Too predictable Robin." Came a laugh from the side and Robin snarled.

"Red X." He ground out. The other laughed, his face concealed by his hood, still laughing as he ducked under a swing from Robin and returning a blow of his own. With those blows exchanged the two took to their battle, leaving Beast Boy with the rest of the villains.

Beast Boy, still blinking, switched into a bat and let out a quick screech, pinpointing where everyone was in the room. He took off, flying above Dr. Light to try and distract him while aiming for the small figure flying around after him.

"Get back here snot-face!" The little figure demanded.

"Dude, grow up. Who calls anyone snot-face out of kindergarten?" Beast Boy demanded, shifting from bat to pterodactyl. "I mean, come on Gizmo. Surely someone as smart as you has a better insult than that."

"Don't need one to be smarter than you crud-muncher." Gizmo sneered. "Least I'm smart enough not to let Mammoth grab me."

Too late Beast Boy felt a massive hand tighten around his ankle. With a startled shriek, he felt himself pulled down from his flight path, with the hulking Mammoth gripping him by the throat. "I could use a massive drumstick." Mammoth growled.

"How about I cook him first for you?" Gizmo chortled, pushing a button on his pack to release a long arm emitting sparks from the end.

"How about you put my little buddy down before I make you?" Came a loud voice. Gizmo shot around, his robotic arm still extended towards Cyborg, who had leveled his sonic cannon at him. Reaching out, he snapped the sparking arm before shooting the boy genius across the room. "Boo-yah!"

Mammoth watched Gizmo fly across the room and held Beast Boy at arm's length leveling a glare at Cyborg. "One step closer and I snap his neck. And if you come near me with that little toy, he'll be dead."

Cyborg stared down Mammoth, before giving a start as the huge villain was suddenly surrounded in a black aura and slammed into the far wall, with Beast Boy still hovering in place. "You aren't killing my friends today." Raven told him coldly.

Mammoth struggled to stand, only for Cyborg to catch him in the face with a sonic blast. Before the man could stand, Cyborg ran up and slammed the villain into the ground with a double fisted punch. Beast Boy, having been lowered to the ground by Raven, reverted to human before falling to his knees. "Thanks Rae," He said weakly. "Glad my distraction worked."

"Distraction?" Raven asked dryly as she helped him to his feet.

"Yeah. I didn't want those three rushing you. I figured if I could keep Gizmo and Mammoth busy, Light would rush you and you'd take him out. Then you and Cy would help me while Star helped Robin." Beast Boy let out a hoarse cough. "Shouldn't have waited that long though. Next time I go sea anemone."

Raven let out a low chuckle. "Good plan. Now, let's go snag Red X before he teleports away."

Beast Boy nodded, shifting into a massive tiger. "Bet I'll get there before you." He growled.

Raven shook her head. "No bed." She told him, floating forward. "Azurath, Metryon, Zinthos!" She ordered, her power surrounding two ATM machines, which she pitched at Red X.

Looking up, the thief's eyes widened as he flipped over the first machine and ducked under the second. "Bloody hell," The villain muttered. "That was lethal fire!"

"I figured you'd dodge it." Raven told him calmly. "By the way, shouldn't you be worried about the others, instead of whining to me?"

Before he could reply, Robin's boot connected with his back, knocking him flying. Starfire's glowing hands released two bright green bolts of light, knocking Red X even further before Cyborg shot him in the stomach. It didn't do much damage beyond sending a shower of sparks everywhere. "Damn it." He cursed. He sat up and shook a fist at Cyborg. "You're gonna pay for that!"

Suddenly he heard a low growl in his ear and he slowly turned his head to see a green tiger baring its teeth. Before he could move Beast Boy had him pinned from behind, one set of claws on the back of his neck. Robin stepped forward cautiously. "I say we've got two choices X. I can cuff you and chain you to the table there or Beast Boy can sit on you 'til the cops arrive. It's your choice right now but I'll warn you; B.B.'s a little twitchy right now."

Beast Boy let out a combination of throaty chuckle and growl. Red X looked up at the Titans and flinched as claws warningly touched his skin. "I'll take the cuffs." He said gruffly.

"Smart choice." Robin said. He snapped the cuffs on Red X and nodded to Beast Boy. Beast Boy shifted into an anaconda and wrapped himself around the thief. "Start walking. You won't get far if you try and run."

Before Red X could reply, a piercing scream shook the room. The Titans spun around, looking for the source and found it in Gizmo. The boy, his mechanical backpack destroyed was running from some sort of creature and screaming at the top of his lungs. Dr. Light was on the ground, a different creature attacking him while a third was wrestling with Mammoth, while a pack of each creature seemed to be materializing from the walls.

"Titans, go!" Robin ordered. "Beast Box, release Red X. He can fend for himself or hide but we aren't compromising you for this fight."

"Screw this, I'm getting out of here!" Red X snapped. Beast Boy released his coils and shifted back to human, so Robin threw a small disk that snapped onto Red X's belt. There was a sudden burst of sparks and Red X let out a yelp.

"No you're not." Robin said coldly. "You don't have a teleporter. Stay out of our way."

"Robin, I fear we have a problem!" Starfire called over anxiously. She was firing off her starbolts at the creatures and was only succeeding in being chased. One grabbed her by the leg and brought her down to ground level. She punched it in the face and drew back her hand, wincing. "I cannot hurt these things!"

"Me either!" Cyborg yelled, firing his sonic cannon and slamming his metal hands into them. "Nothing's hurting them."

Robin snapped out his bo staff, shot a grapple into the roof and swung himself across the room. Using his swing's momentum, he dropped down and struck a full arc swing onto a creature's head. He winced as his staff shuddered, jarring his shoulder before snapping on impact.

"Azurath, Metrion, Zinthos!" Raven yelled, her eyes glowing as she sent out spikes of her power. Her magic tore through the creatures, driving holes through them. Upon impact, the creatures crumbled into dust that collapsed.

"Geez Raven, what are doing?" Cyborg asked, shocked.

"They aren't human. They aren't even from around here." Raven told them gravely. "The closest word that fits for them is a demon. They're resistant to our equivalent of magic, so you won't be able to easily hurt them." She warned, before turning to see Beast Boy in bear form tear through three of them at once; one with each paw and the third with his mouth. "Huh. That's weird."

"Never mind that. How do we stop them?" Robin asked.

"We need to get back to the Tower. Whatever they are, they're originating from there." Raven told him.

"But what of those in the city?" Starfire asked. "If we can't hurt them, how much damage will they do?"

"Much less than if we continue to let them escape." Raven told her grimly. "And we can't fight them unless I get back to the Tower to gather the spells that will either null their resistance or increase our power, because it looks like only I, and somehow Beast Boy, can fight them."

TTGTTGTTG

Cyborg checked the sensors for the Tower and gave a slow nod. "Everything checks out. My sensors can't detect anything moving in the Tower."

Robin nodded, glancing over at Raven, who shook her head. "I can fight these things but I can't sense them, at least not accurately enough to tell if any are lingering in the tower."

Beast Boy sniffed the air and grimaced. "I can. These things stink, and there's a massive stench coming from the living room."

Starfire grimaced. "I am wishing that they had found another location. I am growing very tired of bleaching the couch."

"You've been bleaching it?" Cyborg demanded. "I thought Beast Boy was spilling tofu on it."

"We can worry about the couch after we deal with whatever's in our Tower." Robin told everyone firmly. "Raven, you seem to know how to fight these things. What do you suggest we do?"

"You three stay back when we enter the living room. I'll blast anything in the room before heading to my room. Once I have gathered the necessary spells to level the playing field, we split up and hunt these things down." Raven said calmly.

"What about us?" Cyborg asked. "I don't mean to be picky Raven but three of us can't hurt these things. What do we do while you research?"

"Do research of our own." Robin told Cyborg before Raven could. "If those things are coming from our Tower, than there must be either a portal or a tunnel, either of which we can detect. And we all have contacts from all over the world, and other worlds. We can find out how big of a problem this is and whether or not we need reinforcements."

"And don't forget dude, I can fight these things." Beast Boy reminded him. "I can totality take anything that comes through that portal."

"That's well and good Beast Boy but that means less than half our team can do something. What do we do to keep Raven from being knocked out or you being killed off?" Cyborg demanded. "We need a better plan than Raven and Beast Boy kill everything."

Robin sighed. "Until we can damage those things, that pretty much has to be the plan. We'll have to play look out for now."

Starfire and Cyborg grudgingly agreed, and the group entered the Tower with Beast Boy leading the way. When Raven started to protest, he told her, "Look Raven, if you lead the way you're more likely to get ambushed and knocked out or worse. You're still our best chance of fighting these things and you're our healer to boot. Now me, I'm a runty green guy. If I take a hit to the head, I'll groan and grumble but I'll live and probably just turn into a ram and head-butt them for payback. You on the other hand could be knocked out and leave the rest of us helpless. Let me go first."

Raven ceased arguing after that and allowed herself a little bit of space behind Beast Boy, a strange look on her face. Since when did Beast Boy make sense when he talked to her? This whole incident was spiraling out of control. Not only were most of her friends helpless, not only had she never seen most of the creatures she was fighting, but now Beast Boy, one of the few constants in her life, was acting less and less like himself. She needed to get her wits about her and figure this out before she went insane. Well, more insane.

A loud clang alerted her as Beast Boy in the form of a gorilla knocked the door in. Cyborg let out a groan and Beast Boy morphed back into human form with an apologetic grin. "Sorry the door jammed, there's no power in this room."

"No power, BB? The tower's in full defence mode," Cyborg protested. "Those doors should have enough power to keep me running for months running through them."

Beast Boy shrugged, "You got me there dude, I'm not an electrician. All I know is that there's no power in these doors either to keep people out or even open up with"

"Beast Boy's telling the truth," Robin interrupted Cyborg's starting rant. "If those doors had power he wouldn't have been able to touch them let alone knock them down. I don't think that any of the other security measures are working either because we're coded as intruders and we haven't faced a single security measure."

Starfire frowned and put her ear up to the wall, "I agree that we have not yet been attacked but if we have not been attacked I still hear the power going?"

Robin cocked his head curiously, "What was that Starfire, you hear the power's going? How can you hear the power's going?'

Beast boy asked, "You don't?" Honest curiosity in his voice.

"I do not hear the actually power going," Starfire explained quickly, "I do however hear the generators humming and do note the lights are on. Also friend Cyborg said he turned on the systems of security and he is well connected to the tower."

Robin glanced over to Cyborg for confirmation, Cyborg nodded. "My systems say that everything we've got is on, every security measure we have is running at 100%."

Robin looked puzzled, "So does that mean that something is blocking the flow the power or-"

"Or someone is draining the power, from the whole tower, especially this room," Raven finished.

Beast Boy lightly cleared his throat, "Dudes, weird question." Everyone turned to look at him, "If someone's powerful to drain electricity from the tower and skilled enough to drain only from the security systems why are standing in the door way that we just conveniently knocked down to announce our presence into the room, shouldn't we be walking in and preparing for the worst in battle instead of sitting and waiting in the hallway?"

The Titans all exchanged looks, suddenly realising exactly what Beast Boy was telling them. With said Titan leading the way the Titans charged into the living room, eyes wide and weapons ready, looking for any trouble. Raven was glowing with black energy and Beast Boy had shifted into his T-Rex form, baring his teeth and preparing to tear through the demons he thought were waiting.

Instead there was just a still figure in the centre of the room. The Titans all froze, staring down at the still being in shock. Beast Boy shifted back looking around the room with confusion clearly written all over his face. "Dude, really? We get Hell on Earth in Jump City and the source of it is some guy crashing in our living room?"

"Beast Boy, get away from him." Raven snapped. "I don't know what he is but I sense power. He makes my father look weak."

Beast Boy sniffed the air and shook his head. "Not him Rae. Whatever he's tied to, yeah but not him. His aura isn't right for it."

Raven was about to reply when Robin snapped, "Titans! Trouble!" He pointed to the air behind the prone figure. It was glowing an odd purple light, before letting out a colorless burst that blinded the Titans. When they could see again, the purple light filled a sphere that floated in the middle of their living room. "Not again." Cyborg groaned. "The last time this happened I spent months cleaning the windows."

"I am more worried about the fact that there are now people in our living room and they are coming towards us." Robin stated, drawing his staff.

Starfire, her hands glowing green, asked, "But are we able to hurt them yet?"

"We'll find out." Cyborg yelled, letting out a burst from his cannon. The creature stumbled back a few steps before snarling.

Beast Boy had already shifted and leapt, his tiger form pinning and clawing the first one. Raven floated where she was, chanting as she surrounded her friends in a black sphere. "Stay back!" She ordered the others. "Beast Boy and I can handle them." She started her chant, only for one of the creatures to pick up the couch and throw it at her. With a grunt, Raven flew across the room, causing her shield to dissipate.

"Raven!" Robin yelled. Beast Boy let out a guttural snarl and tore the creature to shreds before shifting into a bear and charging the others.

"Robin, you check on her. These things are starting to react to Starfire's powers too. We'll help the grass stain." Cyborg told him.

Robin nodded and ran over, noting the sounds of the battle behind him. He quickly checked for Raven's pulse letting out a sigh of relief as he did so. A quick glance at the wall caused him to grimace. Cyborg had upgraded the Tower walls to survive him and Starfire hitting them at the same time. Currently there was a dent in it roughly the length of Raven's body, and the couch was still on her legs. With a grunt, Robin lifted the corner of the couch, wishing not for the first time he possessed at least a touch of super strength.

The couch did move though and Robin quickly checked Raven over. To his surprise, he couldn't feel any broken bones or extensive damage. Other than being unconscious, Raven seemed fine.

Before he could let anyone know, Starfire and Cyborg both slammed into the wall on either side of him. Cyborg shook his head, trying to clear it. "Good news, we can hurt them. Bad news, not enough."

"But we did provide enough of a distraction for Beast Boy, did we not?" Starfire asked tiredly.

Robin turned to look and his eyes widened. Beast Boy, in the shape of a velociraptor, was tearing through the creatures leaving shreds of them behind. More were coming but he didn't seem to care or slow down. If two more appeared after he killed one, those two were gone before they had a chance to attack. "When did he get so good?" Robin wondered.

"What, not holding back when fighting the bad guys?" Cyborg asked. "Rob, if we let green bean there hand the police quarter sections of the villains, he'd be even better than Raven. But we don't so he's not. Speaking of Raven, she seems to be coming around."

Raven was starting to stir, shaking her head slowly and blinking, everything momentarily fuzzy. "Stupid shield." Raven muttered. "Need to work on that..."

"Raven?" Robin asked hesitantly staying just out of reach. "You ok?"

"Relatively." She said. "And I think I've figured something out. Where's Beast Boy?"

"Over there." Cyborg pointed. "Taking those things out by the dozen."

"Not good. Those things aren't real. They're constructs. Someone is sending golems after us to gauge our strength. We need to shut that portal, and that guy is the anchor." Raven pointed at the prone figure, still oblivious to the battle.

"Is he even alive?" Robin asked her.

"Doesn't have to be. Give me a moment. Robin, do you have any bombs on you?" Robin nodded slowly. "Good. Starfire, Cyborg, you two shoot anything that comes near me. Robin, if anything gets hit by either of them, hit it with an explosive disk. I only need a moment."

The other Titans nodded. "What about Beast Boy?" Starfire asked, before a roar caught her attention. Turning, the group saw a T-Rex charge through the group, destroying another group of golems. "On the second thought, we had best be leaving him be."

"Ready?" Raven asked. The others nodded. "Three, two, one, go!"

Starfire flung her starbolts at multiple golems that had broken from the group dealing with Beast Boy, her attacks closely followed by small orange disks that exploded on contact. Cyborg took similar action, only he fire small rockets from his shoulders following his bursts from his cannon. With the golems distracted, Raven floated down beside the prone figure, her power forming a dark aura around her.

She knelt beside the figure's head and let out a deep sigh before willing her power into her voice "Do your duty!" She ordered, her robes flashing white for a moment as her power surrounded the other body.

The figure bolted upright, eyes glowing a crimson red. He floated in the air for a moment, before letting out a deep, guttural yell. "**Return! Seal!**"

Raven closed her eyes and raised her hands, expecting a similar blinding light as before but instead, all there was a quiet hum. The golems all shuddered and fell apart, forming piles of dirt across the living room. One of the golems let out a screech and its form fell away, revealing a humanoid body that started to glow brightly before being sucked into the portal. As it phased through the portal, the sphere faded away, leaving a faint purple tint that was slowly fading away.

The figure shuddered and shook his head. "Gods above and below." He muttered, a hand going to his temple. "That was a bad one. I hate crossings."

Raven stood up, drawing her power into an aura projection around herself. The figure looked up, his eyes wide. "A child of Trigon? Here? But that must mean... This is Junp Cit-ie?"

"Jump City." Robin corrected, his staff in his hands and ready. "Who are you?"

The figure shook his head. "I found them. The Titans. Maybe they will be enough." He rolled his shoulders and stood up. "I am Krandu, of the Titans North. And my world needs your help."


	2. Chapter 2

**Yay chapter 2. Just a quick note for anyone bothering to read this, I will be updating very slowly, because right now I have another two chapters finished but at the rate I've been writing I won't have a third for months. So if you like it, please bear with my slow writing skills and if you don't... Well, it's not a problem for you anyway.**

**Thank you for paying attention to my rant, enjoy the chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans.**

Cyborg was shaking his head at the scans he was getting off Krandu. "I can't believe it. This doesn't make any sense."

"Maybe not by Earth's standards, but by my standards I can tell you that I am quite healthy." Krandu offered, staring at the machines in the medical bay with fascination. "I love coming to Earth. Your people evolve so quickly, and you invent such wonderful toys. What fills one room for you would take buildings for us at times. And yet I cannot understand how ones so advanced could not handle the golems."

"I was hoping you could explain that to us, as well as where you are from." Robin told him. "What was that about your world needing our help? Are you from another planet?"

"After a fashion." Krandu told him. "More like another dimension. Your friend there," He indicated to Raven, "Would know about it, if Trigon taught her anything."

"My father never did anything other than try to kill me." Raven told him dryly. "But I was raised on Azurath, so I might know what you're talking about if you would explain."

"Ah yes. The old monks. I'm surprised. But they would have told you about our world. Kil Tepath is my world." Krandu told her.

"The cross roads." Raven nodded. "I have heard of it, if only in passing. The portal between Azurath and Tepth was closed long before my time."

"It was? Oh right, time flux." Krandu shook his head. "Slightly frustrating sometimes. But yes, that is an accurate description. I am one of the Teen Titans of my world. The last I'm afraid."

"The last? But what happened?" Starfire asked, floating forward with a steaming drink. "And you should drink this. Many hours unconscious are not good for any body, regardless of where it is from."

"Thank you." Krandu took the drink, sipping it. "By the gods, what is this? It is fantastic."

"An Earth drink called coffee I believe. I have sweetened it with some kaldash from my world to help perk you up." Starfire told him sweetly. Beast Boy flinched, remembering the taste of kaldash and wondering how this stranger could drink it.

"Ah Tameran. Such a beautiful world. A shame that there was never a portal to it; I only got to visit once." Krandu said wistfully. "But I digress. And as to what happened, I do not know. Perhaps a little explanation on my part is in order. Am I to understand correctly that you all are essentially super powered law enforcement?"

"That's rather accurate." Robin admitted. "We take down the criminals that the police can't safely deal with, and aid them in other endeavors as need be."

"Ah. Well in my world, the Titans are not quite the same. We are effectively a border control." Krandu explained. "We are to prevent anyone from sneaking through a portal that may carry a threat to other worlds, and help curb the criminals who hide in the crossroads."

Cyborg nodded. "You guys are traffic control, and anyone who runs a red gets pulled over and impounded. If you guys get lots of beings like those golems, you've got to be pretty tough. Why use teenagers?"

"We prefer to have adolescents due to their nature." Krandu told him. "Adults have a fixed way of thinking, which is normal based on their experiences in life due to having lived longer. We find teenagers are the most flexible in their nature, and while they can be narrower minded than adults, they are easier to get to accept the diverse range of beings we encounter without prejudice. Also, teenagers are in a state of rebellion, so if they do have radically different racist views we can alter it by stating it to be the same as a parent's point of view."

"But that doesn't explain why you're here, or why the other Titans are missing." Raven told him. "And you're far older than a teenager."

"Ah. The second I can answer easily. I am immortal. What you saw in your common room was me being dead and recovering, not unconscious." Krandu told her. "It happens quite often. I "die" from my inflicted wounds, my body sorts itself out and I get back up after a certain amount of time."

"Then what are you?" Raven asked, her eyes narrowing in frustration. "That doesn't match anything I've ever heard of."

"I haven't the foggiest." Krandu told her calmly. "And as to what happened to the other Titans, I have already said I don't know. Originally there were four Towers, and one by one, the other Towers just stopped working. No distress calls, no signal, nothing. Just more traffic through the remaining Towers. Finally, only mine remained and a few nights ago, my team just vanished. They left to investigate a normal case and I was left to guard the Tower. They never came back. And the following days I was attacked over and over again by dozens of creatures. Those golems were some of the weaker creatures I'm afraid."

"And you now want us to go over and help? We were swarmed by those golems. We could barely fight them." Robin told him. "Only Beast Boy and Raven could hurt them."

"Really?" Krandu asked surprised. He turned to Beast Boy and asked, "Are your powers by chance shape shifting green one?"

"How could you tell?" Beast Boy asked dryly.

"Is that rhetorical?" Krandu asked, confused. "Earth's sarcasm eludes me most of the time. I'll assume not and point out that two magic casters on one team would be redundant, and that a shape shifter is the best way to balance your team's combat skills. So that leaves the metal man with his technology, an alien woman and... what might your powers be young man?' He asked Robin.

"None." Robin answered, a slight tick appearing on his forehead.

"Ah. That explains it. Your powers are all natural to your dimension, hence your equivalent to magic." Krandu told him. "The portal provides you with a certain amount of resistance to powers when you cross to a foreign world, at least for a few days so you can safely adjust. You two attacked them with neutral or foreign magic that the portal deemed fair game."

"So wait if we fought them in a say, a week, Rob, Star and I could kick butt?" Cyborg asked. Krandu nodded and Cyborg scowled. "Doesn't that kind of protection cause problems? That's a lot of temptation for someone, giving them temporary invincibility."

"It only works if you are immigrating to a new world normally." Krandu said mildly. "And think about it; if you're from a completely foreign world that knows about Kil Tepath know that the invulnerability is just a failsafe in case someone does something so rude it is considered appropriate to react violently."

Raven nodded before sighing. "But none of this helps. Can't you just seal off Tepath? So many portals have been shut already."

"That would be a death sentence for those of Kil Tepath." Krandu told her grimly. "Tepath needs the magic from the other worlds to survive, and its economy only functions through trade and relocation. Even if our magic was satisfied the system would collapse without travellers."

"But what about that portal to Earth? You sealed it. Does that mean none of the other portals will work until you return?" Robin asked.

"Yes, but until I return had a large time limit." Krandu said. "Kil Tepath has massive time shifts compared to other worlds. Currently, two days in Earth is less than an hour on Krandu but after those two days on Earth, the next three weeks on Tepath will pass in minutes."

The Titans all looked confused except for Starfire, who nodded eagerly. "Then you have managed to solve the Spatial Anomaly formula and can bend time to suit your desires?"

Krandu stared at her for a moment, confused. "Umm... Yes?"

"Starfire, I don't think he knows what you're talking about." Robin told her quietly. Starfire blushed and quietly apologised, which Krandu waved off.

"Not an issue. So, now that you've heard my problem I have to ask; will you help me?" He looked at them, his face pained. "I wouldn't come to your world and ask otherwise but I have nowhere else to turn. My teammates are gone, perhaps dead, the seals on all the portals are threatening to collapse and I am being hunted down by enemies unknown. I cannot guarantee anything other than my need for help."

Robin exchanged a look with the rest of his team. They didn't have an easy answer. Yes this was someone asking them for help, and not just anyone but another hero trying to save his world. But they would be leaping into the unknown and leaving their city defenceless if they did. Raven and Beast Boy were both staring at the portal, something drawing them in. Cyborg looked nervous, Starfire torn and Robin was a blank wall. They knew they had to act. They had to go to Kil Tepath.

Robin sighed and looked at Krandu ruefully. "You say that the next two days here will be around an hour there?" He asked. Krandu nodded. "How long will that seal last?"

"Three days at most. And once it comes down, I can't bring it back up. The portal will collapse if I do." Krandu told him.

"Then we have two days Titans." Robin told them. "Let's get everything in order. We're going to Kil Tepath."

TTGTTGTTG

"Get everything in order" was easier said than done.

Krandu was left to watch the Titans buzz with activity for those two days. Robin and Cyborg spent the days preparing all the tools they would need on the trip and calling in Honorary Titans to serve as temporary guardians for the city, Beast Boy and Starfire handled any emergency calls they received and Raven scoured her library for any spells she could, sealing them away in a bag for her to use.

Watching the Titans work was fascinating, and when he heard the alarm rallying them to a crisis, he had offered to assist them but Robin politely declined. "We would love to have you help." He admitted. "But you aren't from this planet. You don't know our laws, you don't know our methods and we don't know the limit of your powers. I don't want to accidently send corpses to the police."

So Krandu just worked in the Tower, cleaning things up and helping where he could. While cleaning in the medical bay, he accidently overheard a call Cyborg was making to Titans East. "Bee, we need a favor. Kid Flash and Jynx will be watching the city for a day, so I was wondering if you could be on call to help them if need be."

"Right now Sparky?" She demanded. "Come on, we just finished setting up Titans North and South. We're on call for South right now, while you guys are on call for North. You want us to babysit three cities? For how long?"

"Ours is just for the day. If we're not back by then, something's gone wrong." Cyborg sighed. "Bee, I'm sorry. Really. I know this is bad timing but we have to leave. We've got to help someone."

"Care to explain that big man?" Bumblebee asked slyly.

"You got a few hours?" Cyborg asked rhetorically. "But seriously Bee, if we aren't back in a day, that means we probably aren't coming back. There'll be a disk on the dining table. Kid Flash will deliver it to you. You guys read it, then send it to Batman. He'll contact the League and have someone set up replacements for us."

"You're serious, aren't you Cyborg?" Bumblebee stared at him. "What have you guys gotten yourselves into?"

"Something pretty big." Cyborg admitted. "Can I count on you?"

"Of course." She told him. "Take care of yourself. Bumblebee out."

Krandu heard the whole exchange and felt a familiar pain stab at him. Cyborg had just put the Titan's affairs in order. He thought there was a big enough risk of them not coming back he had set that all up. And the exchange he'd had with that young woman...

Cyborg stepped into the medical bay, his face tired. Krandu nodded to him, indicating to a bag in the corner. "I packed everything you asked for in there, plus a few packets that I didn't recognise. They didn't take up much space but I figured that your medicine might come in handy and more was better."

"Thanks." Cyborg told him, his voice distracted.

Krandu gave the young hero a moment to continue his response but none came. Krandu sighed and continued his cleaning. "I take it she wasn't for you?"

"What?" Cyborg asked, his head snapping up.

"That young woman you contacted." He explained. "You and her sounded like you two were familiar with each other but that was it. You two had feelings for each other, or at least you had and still have, but she doesn't reciprocate. So that was the closest you have to saying your final good bye in case everything doesn't work out."

Cyborg stared at him for a moment. "How did-"

"I'm much older than I look. There's a lot to be revealed just by the overtones of a person's speech." Krandu shrugged. "Also, it is a common problem for people your age. I wouldn't worry about it. She is a close friend, but nothing more. You have time."

"Do I?" Cyborg asked. "We could die on your world."

"I find that unlikely." Krandu told him with a chuckle. "I am powerful, as are you and your friends, and if the problem cannot be dealt with by us, then I send you five home and seal the portal. With the Earth portal sealed, the network would collapse and the threat contained until Kil Tepath was no more."

"You'd do that? Doom your whole world?" Cyborg asked, shocked.

"If I fail to stop whatever is attacking the Titans, it is already doomed." Krandu told him grimly. "There aren't other heroes in my world Cyborg. We aren't even truly heroes. We are pest control so the beings that travel through our world don't decide to grind it into dust."

"I somehow doubt that you would let that happen." Cyborg chuckled darkly. "You managed to make Raven take a step back, and she killed Trigon through a duel. Whatever you are, it's very powerful."

"Perhaps." Krandu agreed, calming down a bit. "Regardless, do not let it bother you, either your relationship or the mission. Both will turn out in the end, just you wait."

Cyborg nodded and took the medical bag from Krandu. "Thanks. I'm going to finish getting everything I need for the trip. See you later."

Krandu watched the young man leave and sighed. "I wish I had more to offer than just advice Victor," He said quietly. "But at this point, I'm not even sure what that is worth." He finished cleaning the medical station and went back to the main room, feeling for the first time in decades tired. He decided to check on the other Titans and found Robin to be closest. He knocked quietly before entered what appeared to be a training room where Robin was fighting a swarm of metal beings.

Krandu started forward to help but watched in amazement as the boy stuck each being in turn, each blow destroying either a limb or torso. He smashed his way through the metal men until nothing but scraps surrounded him. Breathing heavily, Robin turned to the immortal with a slightly tired look. "Everything ok?" He asked.

Krandu nodded, eying the pile of scrap. "That was amazing." He said, carefully walking through the mess. "You did all this? I thought you said you had no powers."

"I don't." Robin told him curtly. "I was trained in martial arts, armed combat, piloting multiple vehicles and many different aspects of forensic science. Everything I do is something I trained to do. No powers, no shortcuts."

"You sound frustrated, so I take it that your sparring with metal golems did not help." Krandu picked up a broom from the far side of the gym and started sweeping. "What is troubling you?"

Robin shook his head with a sigh. "Just... Your earlier comment got to me. About me having no powers, and yet using this worlds' equivalent to magic. I have trained with the best for years, being the best I could be until I struck out on my own. I helped forge the Titans, and now there are four Towers instead of just one but still everything still seems to come back to me not belonging because I have no powers. I've proven myself time and time again to be as powerful as any of the Titans on my own, and your comment just threw me off balance."

Krandu nodded slowly. "If I offended you, I am sorry. I think you misunderstood what I was saying. Did you ever strike a golem with your bare fist? Or even with a gloved hand?" Robin shook his head. "Then that would be the problem. Technology such as Cyborg's, or genetic abilities such as Starfire's are similar, if not identical to many magics seen on other worlds, only they had different sources. We do not have technology to create creatures such as the ones you destroyed," He indicated to the mess, "But we can create something similar, like the golems that you fought yesterday. Had you struck one with your hand, it likely would have shattered or at least been affected. You used a staff, forged, tempered and manipulated into a technological creation. Your science is like our magic, and that is why you could not fight them."

Robin let out a snort. "Genetic abilities? What do you call Beast Boy then? He was created by his DNA becoming unstable after being injected with a cure for a snakebite meant for animals."

"Beast Boy is one that I find terrifying." Krandu told him honestly. "And regardless of what you say the catalyst was, Beast Boy's powers are rooted in magic. But I am not worried about Beast Boy. I am worried about you. I have caused you distress and I would like to apologise for it."

Robin shook his head. "It wasn't anything you did. I was insecure and let my shortcomings upset me."

Krandu eyed Robin curiously. "If that's so, I have a slight favor to ask." Robin raised an eyebrow, which only went higher when Krandu put the broom down and raised his hands in a ready stance. "Would you spar with me?"

Robin hesitantly walked forward, his hands at his side. Just outside of striking range, Krandu charged forward, his arms out for a wide swing. Robin blocked his arm, grabbed him by the wrist and flipped Krandu over his shoulder, never letting go of the immortal's arm. Krandu, his arms till twisted behind his back, went dead weight, pulling Robin to the ground and twisting free. Both rolled a few feet away and circled each other warily. Robin was giving Krandu an odd look, while Krandu's eyes were alight with excitement.

Krandu ran at Robin again, only this time when he swung, he grabbed the arm Robin blocked with. Using his existing momentum, he pulled Robin in close, slashing his foot down at the boy's ankles. Robin jumped to avoid the kick and, using Krandu's steady arm as a bar, swung his legs out and flipped free of the immortal's grip. Robin landed a few feet away, and turned to face Krandu who had raised his arms in surrender.

"I am impressed. You said you had trained with the best, but I never imagined who you meant." Krandu shook his head. "That one was always troubling. I'm glad he didn't come to me for teaching. He was obsessive enough without my influence. But know this Robin; you should be proud of what you are. You lead the Titans for a reason, the same reason that I of another dimension know your teacher. Without powers, without magic, without anything more than willpower, dedication and a steady heart, you have earned your place long ago. And even if he hasn't said it, your father is proud of you."

Robin stared at Krandu for a moment, his face contorted with conflicting emotions. Krandu bowed and walked out of the gym, and almost as a passing thought, told Robin, "Since you will have to leave tomorrow, might I suggest that you spend the day with Starfire? She is starting to look lonely, even with her boyfriend only a few feet away."

Robin's jaw dropped as Krandu left him standing there. Shaking his head as though trying to clear it, he muttered, "Just who are you Krandu?"

TTGTTGTTGTTG

Krandu debated on stopping in with the other Titans but decided against it. Too much interfering would only cause problems. Instead he moved to the kitchen and quietly prepared meals for the team, matching each meal to what he knew the Titans enjoyed. He knew that this was probably over the top but he knew what the next few weeks in Tepath would be like for them. Nothing seemed to over the top for him. When he had finished, he retired to his room, leaving the Titans to sort out their lives without him.

Shortly afterwards, the Titans all gathered in the common room, staring at the meal that Krandu had prepared. "When did… How could?" Cyborg tried to ask but Robin just sighed.

"I know. There's something a little funny with Krandu. Like he knows too much about us." Robin told the group. "I'm not saying anything against him, or the mission, but he is setting off a few alarm bells in my head."

"So what do we do?" Beast Boy asked. "Can we trust him?"

"I don't know." Robin admitted. "I want to trust him but it's hard to when he know so little. But if he wanted us dead, all he had to do was leave us with the golems. Or ambushed us while we were separated from the group. He seems to really need our help."

"So we help him but be on our guard." Raven said quietly. "We don't need another surprise like before."

Beast Boy flinched at that but didn't comment. No one needed to remind him about Terra but the point was valid.

"Also, how close is everyone to ready to go?" Robin asked. Everyone but Cyborg gave a murmur of finished. "Then I propose that tomorrow be just for us. Kid Flash and Jynx will be settling in tomorrow, and we can give them tomorrow as their trial day to see if they need more help called in while we spend the day as we wish."

Beast Boy's jaw dropped open. "You're giving us time off?" He asked, surprised.

Robin grimaced before looking at Starfire guiltily. "Yeah I know. Heroes don't get vacations but we're the Teen Titans. Teens need some time away from work, especially to spend time with friends. So I'm giving everyone tomorrow off once they're ready to go."

Cyborg sighed while the other silently cheered. "Well, I'm going to sleep plugged in tonight. Y'all updated your medicals for me right? If we're going to a strange dimension, I want to know about any pre-existing problems now."

"All updated Cy. What's the matter?" Beast Boy asked.

"Nothing. I just take longer to pack than you." He said simply. "Now I want to finish my steak and head for bed. It's been a long day."

Everyone agreed with that, and after eating Cyborg left the group. Beast Boy sat down to play his video games for a while, with Robin joining in now and then and Starfire cheering them on. Raven sat by the window with her book on her lap, her face hidden by her hood.

After an hour of playing, Robin said he was turning in and Starfire said the same. Beast Boy noted the look in their eyes was one of longing and reminded himself to wear earplugs tonight. Raven hadn't moved yet, even when Beast Boy turned off his game and walked over to her hesitantly."

"Raven?" He asked her and the sorceress jumped at the sound of his voice. "Sorry. I was just wondering if everything was all right."

"Why wouldn't it be?" Raven asked, her voice monotone and her face still to the window. She noticed he didn't move so she picked up her book deliberately to eye level.

"You lost your page a while ago Rae." Beast Boy said quietly. Raven turned to him and her hood slipped, revealing her scowling face. "Sorry. I'll just go to bed then. If you need something, you know where to find me but you'll have to knock loudly tonight."

"I won't be bothering you, don't worry." Raven told Beast Boy coldly. Beast Boy gave her a hurt look before heading off to bed. His comment about knocking loudly made no sense until she saw him grab ear plugs. With a sigh, she called to him, "Beast Boy? I'm sorry but do you mind staying here a bit longer?"

"Sure." Beast Boy told her, looking puzzled.

Raven pulled down her hood and shook her head. "I know I was snappy with you. I'm sorry for that. It's just, with everything that's happened, I've been on edge."

"You don't like Krandu either." Beast Boy told her. "You think something is off with him."

Raven stared at him and Beast Boy grinned sheepishly. "And you're worrying me. When did you start acting like this?"

"Like what?" He asked, his expression suddenly guarded.

"Like… Like you know what we're doing. All serious and reasonable and reassuring. Hell, when did you start being able to tell what I was feeling?" Raven demanded.

"I always could." Beast Boy said with a shrug. "I'm a dyslexic, green shape shifter. I'm the youngest on the team, and have potentially spent the most time as a hero depending on when Robin started. I can read body language, smell hormones, hear people's heartbeats and feel pressure changes in the air. I act like a goof because I'm ignorant and it helps relieve tension on the group, and it means you guys actually notice me."

Raven flinched a little as Beast Boy's internal shields leaked a profound sadness and pain "Better to be laughed at than ignored?" She asked quietly.

Beast Boy nodded. With a shrug, he gave her his normal grin. "It's not a big deal. Besides, we're supposed to be talking about you. Something's bothering you more than just me being weird and Krandu showing up."

Raven nodded and looked away. "I heard stories about Kil Tepath as a child. It is a wondrous world, full of multiple beings and cultures, and bristling with magic and beauty. But I also heard it is full of danger, from the beings that hide there and the powers that rule. Kil Tepath is the resting place for gods no longer granted access to their native worlds."

"So?" Beast Boy said with a shrug. "Why should that matter? Your father was a god, you killed him."

"That's the problem. I am a god killer now. And I think Krandu is as well."

"I repeat, so?" Beast Boy asked. "It's not like anything bad has happened yet."

"The problem? Beast Boy, Krandu and I are the monsters under the bed for gods, and we're walking into their homes with signs on our backs saying "Danger, kill now!" How is that not a problem?"

"Because nothing's going to hurt you. People don't fight the monster under the bed, they run away and tell a grown up. Who are the gods going to run to?" Beast Boy asked. "I honestly think it's going to be fine. Anything comes up, we'll deal with it, just like before."

Raven was startled by his surety in things "just working out" but nodded all the same. She knew he believed his words and would do all in his power to make them true. She nodded to him and gave him a warm grin. "Thanks Beast Boy."

"No problem. Let me know if anything else is worrying you. Good night." Beast Boy returned her grin, confusion still showing in his eyes but pleasure radiated much more strongly.

After Beast Boy had left, Raven put her hood back up and left the common room, shutting the lights off as she went. She was going to bed soon, but not until she'd dealt with one other matter. She headed to the guest rooms as quietly as she could, before knocking on Krandu's door.

Krandu opened the door, looking a little surprised. "Oh. I didn't expect you this early. Come on in." He told her, leaving the door open. Raven paused for a moment, slightly confused before entering the room.

Krandu had done little in his room, but what he had done surprised Raven. He had left the bed nearly untouched and had set up a chess board in the centre of the room, and had a small kitchenette that Raven was curious as to how he had brought in set up against the wall by the door. Besides the chess board, the room was empty, which bothered Raven because she knew that the room had been lightly furnished before Krandu had entered.

Krandu noticed her looking around the room and told her, "It will be back to normal after I leave. I apologise for the lack of decor, but I'm not very materialistic." He offered her a steaming cup. "Herbal tea?"

"Is it drugged?" She asked dryly as she took the cup, letting her magic taste it first.

"Please. I wouldn't come all this way just to drug you Raven. If I wanted something from you, I'd kill Robin, cripple Cyborg's human remains or just destroy them, and take Beast Boy. Starfire would be broken over Robin's death for roughly two days before she took off trying to kill me, and without Cyborg to help you reason with her you'd be forced to stop her by force before you took off to rescue Beast Boy." Krandu sipped from his own cup, shrugging. "But I'm not here to do that. I know you don't trust me, and I commend your caution but I am honestly just here for help. Would you like to play a game with me?"

Raven stared at the chess board. "I'm not a fan of sitting on the floor."

Krandu nodded and before Raven could blink, two chairs were sitting across from each other. "White, or black?" He asked her.

"Black. I prefer to retaliate." She told him, sitting across from him. Once they were both sitting, she stared at him before muttering, "Azerath, Metrion, Zinthos!"

The world around her pulsed once before slowing and eventually stopping. Krandu looked around and chuckled. "You are cautious. You isolated me, and kept your friends from suddenly appearing assuming you can take me on yourself. Very well," He moved his first piece before nodding to her. "You have questions. Ask."

"You are a god killer, aren't you? Not like me, one by choice and circumstance but a created one." She asked him, moving a pawn forward.

Krandu contemplated the board for a moment before making his move. "That is true. Why? Does it worry you?" He asked her gently.

"Kil Tepath is the home of the gods now." Raven reminded him, moving a board piece telekinetically. "You know as well as I do that the gods no longer of their own worlds are resting there. They rule the crossroads."

"Not as much as you might think." Krandu told her with a shrug. "The gods are just more powerful residents. And of course I know about the gods there. Why do you think I'm on the Titans of my world? As a god killer, I level the playing field if any of the gods start getting any less than pleasant ideas."

Raven gave him a dark look. "Please. God killers are not that simple. I am the daughter of a demon, with powers based on my emotions that require so much diligence that if I sneeze at the wrong time I level a building. You don't appear to have anything like that. What are you?"

Krandu sighed. "I was being honest when I said I didn't know. I will give you my best guess, or the best comparison. How extensively did the monks teach you about thralls?"

Raven frowned. "Thralls? Not much. I can define them as I've been explained, and I know that my father would create them from mortals that he found amusing, granting them limited power to do his will."

"That is fairly accurate, though I had not thought a demon like Trigon would bother with them." Krandu shrugged again. "Thralls are more commonly used by low level beings such as vampires or demons as a food source and servant. They generally treat them well but most thralls have no free will. Do you know what a blood thrall is then?"

Raven flinched. "A blood thrall? They still allow those? I thought blood magic was banned from being practiced."

"Ah. You have a different definition than I then." Krandu nodded slowly. "Not blood magic as in cutting someone and draining the magic of their life force. I mean literal blood magic, manipulating blood."

"It is still the same thing." Raven scowled. "A blood thrall is frightening. They are gifted by their creator with incredible endurance, strength and the ability to manipulate the blood. They are purely animated by their creator's magic, which is embedded in their blood and thus is the source of their power. This causes them to be insane, nothing more than a killing machine. They are sustained by their creator, and often the easiest way to destroy them is to kill their maker."

Krandu nodded, then asked her, "What would you think of a blood thrall with free will? One without a master controlling and sustaining them?"

Raven focussed in on Krandu, her eyes black. "I would be very worried, and contemplate killing the thrall." She said.

"That is the closest thing we've been able to establish that I am." Krandu told her calmly, not showing any fear from her display of power. "And except for the destructive tendencies, I am very similar to a blood thrall. I am virtually indestructible, at least as far as I can tell. I have not stayed dead from anything that has been tried, from total disintegration to being broken apart and buried in different dimensions. I heal and come back. I don't know how. I also have the ability to manipulate blood directly, not steal magic. As for the bleeding something and releasing magic, even Robin could do that and he is magically a dud." Krandu paused there. "That will be most useful I believe. It isn't often I come across a magic dead zone like him."

Raven was startled. "But I use magic on him all the time." She said.

"No, I mean he has no personal magic of any kind." Krandu told her. "No powers, no innate talent just waiting to be awakened. Even his mentor has some of that. No, Robin is truly all he is. No external power, no technological enhancement, nothing. He is that powerful just as he is."

Raven stared at him for a moment. "Is that normal? The random change in your thoughts?" She asked.

"Oh, sorry. To me it makes perfect sense but I guess it would be odd for you." Krandu shrugged. Raven frowned. That was the third shrug he had given in less than twenty minutes, and each time he had given different message through body language. He was trying to manipulate her, make himself seem harmless and trustworthy.

"Why are you manipulating us? Why do you seek us out separately and tell us things that only make sense to us as individuals?" She asked.

Krandu frowned. "I am not trying to manipulate you. I am simply trying to repay you for favors granted. You have allowed me to stay, helped me deal with beings forcing their way into your world and have placed some risk upon yourselves and your city by coming with me to help me with no thought of reward. What I am telling you only makes sense to you because it is something I know about each of you from watching you."

"Repay us? We're heroes. We would do this because it's right." Raven told him, wishing she sounded less like Beast Boy right now.

Krandu nodded. "And that is why I am helping you. Why I am telling you all the things I do. Because you all do things that no one else can, and expect no favor or repayment for it. I am doing what little I can to repay you, because I can."

"You told Cyborg something earlier. It almost sounded like a prophecy." She said, almost accusingly.

Krandu sighed. "Not exactly. With all the time shifts, and with my much longer life span, I can see certain patterns developing in the world. And yes, I can do a small amount of divination through my blood manipulation. It isn't a set-in-stone prophecy but it is fairly accurate. I told him what he needed to hear because of his own personal problems." Krandu moved his chess piece and told her, "Your move. And I would rather not talk about Cyborg, or Robin because what I told them is their business."

"You told Robin to spend time with Starfire because he was being a bad boyfriend not to, and Cyborg to wait for his chance at love to come along because Bumblebee doesn't love him, so he should stop mooning over the idea of love and move on with his life." Raven told him dryly. Krandu raised an eyebrow and Raven shrugged with a ghost of a smile. "I'm an empath. Robin and Cyborg both confide in me to prevent any emotional turbulence so I can sleep. Otherwise I make their lives hell for a while."

Krandu chuckled. "I apologise. I was trying to be polite to them and keep their secrets their own."

Raven waved him off and moved her piece. "I understand. I was just proving a point. What you are doing is no secret to me. I just wanted to make sure you weren't harming my friends."

"I have no intention of harming them." Krandu assured her. "I know there is no way that I can assure you of this but I hope my actions will speak for themselves. Do you want me to stop playing creepy mystic then?"

"No, you aren't playing creepy mystic, you're playing grumpy old man." She said with a teasing grin. "But no, you are free to act as you wish. My suspicions are laid to rest for now, at least the ones that can be." She moved her last piece and told him, "Check."

Krandu looked at the board with a grin. "And mate I believe. Well played. Well, if I am still supposed to play old mystic, I should warn you that Beast Boy is currently sitting outside and appears quite worried about your wellbeing. It seems his ear plugs didn't work as well as he hoped, and he's quite anxious about you having not come out yet."

Raven was a bit startled at this. "Beast Boy is moving?" She demanded. "But I-"

"Regardless, he's moving and about to break down my door." Krandu told her blandly. "If you wish to ask me more questions, might you put him at ease first? I don't sleep well with drafts."

Raven stood swiftly, nodded her thanks to Krandu and came to the door. It slid opened to reveal a massive green gorilla standing with a fist drawn back, face determined. She held as still as she could as the fist came forward, stopping inches from her when realisation dawned and Beast Boy forced himself to stop moving. Reverting to human, Beast Boy stared at her for a moment before asking, "Raven? You're all right?"

"As all right as I can be, all things considering." She told him dryly. "Thank you for not trying to flatten me."

Beast Boy winced. "Raven, I'm sorry but I heard you going to Krandu's room so I followed to make sure you were all right and then you didn't come out and you stopped time and-"

"Beast Boy!" Raven snapped. The green boy flinched and visibly wilted. Using a calmer voice, she told him, "I understand. You were worried about me and tried to help. I stopped time to talk withs Krandu, trying to prevent any interruption. You were unaffected for some reason."

Beast Boy swallowed for a moment, waiting to be chewed out by the sorceress but it never happened. Instead Raven sighed and told him, "Let's go back to bed. I don't need to talk to Krandu anymore, and unless he has questions for me."

"None for tonight." Krandu called over. "Go to bed young ones. Time does not like being dammed up, so I suggest you release the spell before it spills over on you Raven."

Raven nodded and with a small amount of struggle released her spell. She breathed out a sigh as the world suddenly righted itself and she tried to keep from shaking. That was one gift she'd inherited from her father that she held in reserve because of how much it hurt. She tried to walk away but her legs just wouldn't work properly. She managed to take a few steps before she stumbled, her legs no longer working.

Before she could fall though, something snagged her waist and shoulders and gently held her at an angle before straightening her. "Easy Rae, I've got you." Beast Boy said softly.

"My name is-" Raven tried to growl but Beast Boy cut her off.

"Raven, I know. Just as mine's Garfield but I've been called Beast Boy since I got here. So sorry, but when I'm concerned I generally call you by your nickname." Beast Boy held her for a moment, gently keeping her upright. Raven blushed for a moment, not used to such physical contact or the intensity of Beast Boy's emotions. He was honestly worried about her, and cared about her more than she would have believed.

Raven gave herself a moment in his arms before gently pushing away. "I can stand on my own power Beast Boy. I'll go to bed now."

"I'll walk you to your room. I don't want you passing out in the hallway." He told her.

"Beast Boy, please." Raven told him, pulling her hood up to hide her face. "I just need to be alone. I'll make it to bed just fine; I can hover there if need be. If you're that worried about me, keep an eye on me tomorrow not tonight. Tonight I'll just be tired, tomorrow is when I'll be hit hardest."

Beast Boy frowned before shrugging. "Fine. We've got a free day tomorrow right? There's a new bookstore in town, we can go there tomorrow."

"We?" Raven asked, shocked. Beast Boy, in a book store?

"We." He told her firmly. "Good night.


	3. Chapter 3

**Ok, so here's the next chapter. A good chunk of it is a preview of the sequel I have planned, so please bear with it. And sorry, as I said before I won't be updating for a while. For those reading this story, or any of my others, please bear with me. I am writing and editing but it's taking a while. Hope you guys enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans.**

**Chapter 3**

Krandu smiled as he watched from the top of the tower as Beast Boy and Raven left the Tower together, followed by Robin driving Starfire on his motorcycle. "Four out of five." He murmured thoughtfully. He walked back to his room, conjuring a knife and a bowl without a thought. "Just one left."

He drew the slender blade across his hand and let his blood drip into the bowl. He then pulled out a piece of string, dipping it in the bowl of blood and concentrating, forcing the blood to surround the wick. Along the sides of the blood, criss-crossing lines appeared as well as a few glyphs that seemed drawn into the shape. Satisfied, Krandu spoke a word and the blood solidified into a candle. He nodded once, and attached a short note to the candle. "That should do it." He said quietly and went out, leaving the candle by the fridge for its intended recipient.

Cyborg entered the kitchen, looking disgruntled. He had offered to help Jynx and Kid Flash settle in, leaving the other Titans to their own designs. They had eagerly taken him up on his offer, shocking him by separating off as Beast Boy and Raven leaving together, not quite hand in hand and Starfire and Robin took off to do who knows what. Robin and Star he knew, but he had been shocked that Raven and Beast Boy were planning to be together. "Wonder if Green Bean finally grew a pair and made his move." He muttered, heading for the fridge.

He never opened the door however. He instead had his eyes drawn to the blood red candle sitting there, with a note pinned to its side. The note was a sheet of paper, folded in half and labelled _Cyborg_.

Cyborg hesitantly opened it, reading the contents quickly. _Consider this an apology,_ it read, _for your friends pairing up and abandoning you. Simply light the candle, and you will receive the gift. I would advise you to light it alone, and only once your duties are complete. If you are interrupted, it will run out and that will be it. Enjoy. _The note was unsigned but Cyborg didn't care. He was curious about the candle, and the unsigned note made him think of Raven or Krandu. Either could do him harm if they wanted, and wouldn't have bothered with the candle as an elaborate trap.

He thought about everything he had left to do. He was already packed, and had the Tower locked on automatic. He still needed to charge his spare power cells that he would be bringing and replace his current one though. That would take hours, so he would be without interruptions. He took the candle into his room, set it down on a small holder and hooked himself up. Once he was settled, he lit the candle.

The world shifted. He had expected some light, a scent, anything that you normally get from a candle but he hadn't expected the room to suddenly grow fuzzy and a vision of himself on the streets of Jump to appear. This him looked... different. His armour was thicker, covered in more damage and his human face bore scars. His arms were thicker with weaponry, and he seemed to carry a more lethal set than normal.

_The T-Car was parked behind his other self, and he could hear the older Cyborg talking. "I found them. I'm going in."_

_"Cyborg, don't! Wait for back up!" Robin ordered but rather than it coming through an arm, it flashed from his robotic eye._

_"No time. These guys mean business Rob. They've got powers Rob, and who knows what else in there."_

_"All the more reason to wait a few minutes. Cyborg, Raven and Beast Boy are only a few minutes away. Please wait for back up." Robin begged. "We can't afford to lose one of our own!"_

_Cyborg ground his teeth but nodded, shutting off the communicator. He switched his eyes to scanning, searching the building for life forms and structural weakness. Before he could finish, there was a piercing scream that filled the air. Cyborg's scanners focussed in and his eyes widened. The scream was coming from inside. These thugs had a hostage._

_They had a little girl as a hostage._

_Orders be damned. Cyborg's left arm snapped into the form of his sonic cannon, his right hand pulled a pistol out of his thigh and his shoulders opened. One held missiles and the other held stun grenades. Without pausing his stride, he raised his weapons and stormed in._

_The thugs spun around to greet him, eyes wide with surprise and a bit of fear. Cyborg's face was blank, except for his eyes that sparked with rage. He couldn't see the girl but that didn't matter now. "Y'all know the drill. You surrender, and I'll just haul you off to jail. Resist and it gets messy."_

_In response, one of the thugs leapt forward with lightning surging from his fingers. Cyborg absorbed the lightning with a sigh. "Another? Where are you sparkplugs coming from?" His cannon gave off a quick shot, burning off his newly acquired energy and taking out the lightning user._

_The others circled Cyborg uncertainty. His eyes narrowed in on the furthest one, who was slipping a pill out of bag. "What on earth is that?" His electronic eye zoomed in on the bag with a frown. "NeoMeta?"_

_In response, the thug who had taken the pill rushed Cyborg with an inhuman growl. Cyborg shot him three times, both with his cannon and the pistol. Neither seemed to do him any harm and instead, the boy threw a heavy punch that slammed Cyborg back a few feet and dented his armour._

_Cyborg groaned and put his pistol away. "Really? More super strength?" The boy just grunted in response and threw another punch. Cyborg caught the first without a qualm, crunching the boy's fist. "Just like the others; got the muscle and the skin but not the bones. Don't hit it if your fist can't take the hit." With that, Cyborg's metal fist slammed into the boy's jaw._

_The thugs, both boys and girls alike charged him. Cyborg didn't miss a beat, his pistol back out and firing, along with his cannon. There was no mercy from either. The cannon didn't pierce the skin but the force left the recipient emitting some sickening sounds. The pistol did what a gun does; it hurt and killed. Without breaking a sweat, Cyborg took them all down, and not all of them made it out alive._

_Cyborg was about to scan for the girl again, and he found her but he didn't like what he found with her. Pinning her to the far end of the room was a robotic double of himself. Cyborg growled. "A Cyclone."_

_This one was different. Someone must have worked on it recently, because all the flaws that had helped him shut down the original batch were missing. Cyborg put away his gun and cannon, charging forward. He needed to get it away from the girl before it did her harm._

_He managed to get within a few feet of it before the Cyclone noted his presence. "New threat detected. Level; imminent." It said in a monotone version of Cyborg's voice. "Neutralising."_

_Cyborg ducked lower as the robot spun around at the waist, swinging its fists at him. Cyborg threw a punch in response, slamming his fist into the robot's side. It stumbled back a few steps before Cyborg tackled it to the ground. The two wrestled, exchanging blows. Cyborg grew angrier as he fought, struggling for the first time since entering the warehouse. This thing was strong, just as or stronger than Cyborg himself. He had upgraded his robotic parts recently, so the fact that this Cyclone could match him worried him._

_Somehow the robot picked Cyborg up and threw him across the room. Cyborg hit it with a grunt, his circuits scrambling and his head hurting. The Cyclone turned around and faced the girl. "Target re-acquired."_

_"Oh no you don't robo-butt." Cyborg scowled, his shoulder rockets being activated. "You freeze or I destroy you."_

_"No. Target is too close. You fire, it will damage the human." The Cyclone replied._

_Cyborg snarled and pulled out his cannon. "Then I will get you out of range." He fired a blast but the robot pulled out a cannon of his own and countered the beam. _

_"You are no longer a threat. I will acquire my target." The Cyclone repeated._

_Before the robot or cyborg could move, the Cyclone was lifted in the air by an unseen force. "Go away." A quiet voice ordered._

_The Cyclone tried to struggle but the unseen hand didn't budge. Cyborg watched in amazement as the little girl, who he now realised was not quite so little, stood up, her hand in a fist above her head. "Leave me alone!" She yelled, her voice strained but as she brought down her arm, the Cyclone flew._

_Cyborg didn't waste the chance, firing off as many missiles as he dared at the robot. When no pieces got back to fight him, Cyborg ran over to the girl, who saw him coming and threw up her hands in alarm. "Don't! I can't-"_

_Cyborg felt an unseen hand push him back and activated the magnets in his boots. He gripped the metal floor and leaned forward, gritting his teeth. "Let me closer. I'm not your enemy." Cyborg ground out._

_"I can't control it!" The girl screamed._

_"Yes you can damn it! Or are you so weak that you'll let your power control you?" Cyborg demanded._

_"I am not weak!" She shrieked. "I can't be... I won't be!"_

_"Then control it! Stop attacking me!" Cyborg told her._

_The girl let out a scream, and Cyborg nearly fell over when the force stopped pushing him. Cyborg stumbled forward, quickly catching himself before going to the girl's side. She looked up at him, partly in shock and awe. "Cyborg?" She asked._

_Cyborg stared at her face in shock. It couldn't be. She couldn't be..._

_The girl took a step forward before letting out a hiss and her legs buckling. Cyborg reached out and caught her with one hand, wrapping his arms around her slight frame. "Sasha..." He whispered._

_"Victor." She couldn't have spoken to him, but he swore he could hear her reply. He just stood there for a moment, holding her tightly._

Cyborg's present form watched the visions start to fade, only to be replaced with others. The girl, Sasha, walking with him, fighting with him. Time passed, times with the two apart and back together again. Visions that showed a life in passing, different strands all merged together, thousands of possibilities but all of them with them together for parts of it.

The visions finally settled on a much older Sasha sitting in an empty room, devoid of all but a plaque. This one felt different, for with the vision came a feeling of warmth, with smell and sound. Sasha, older but still beautiful, had her back to Cyborg. Her hair was starting to fade in color, but was still a vibrant blonde and her figure was still slim but looked softer. Cyborg took a step and watched her stiffen and swivel around.

Her red eyes, wet with pain met his and her face grew pale. "Victor? But... You can't be. You're..." She glanced at the plaque, fresh pain plaguing her face.

Cyborg swallowed heavily. "I could say the same thing about you." He told her quietly.

Sasha looked at him and chuckled sadly. "So this is what he meant. I should have known. You haven't seen me yet, have you? You aren't my Victor."

"Maybe. At least, not yet." He didn't know why, but her calling him hers felt right. He took another step forward and told her, "I missed you."

"I know. I know exactly how you felt." She said quietly. She reached out, her hand just close enough to touch his face but she hesitated. Cyborg's hand met hers and in that moment of contact, he shuddered. He could feel half his face growing wet, felt her thumb wipe a tear from his face. Her sad laugh penetrated the air. "You must have so many questions."

"More than I could ask in a lifetime." He told her, his voice tight. "But the biggest one is... Is this real?"

"For me? Yes. For you?" She shook her head. "I don't think so. It can't be. You know that. You can't know the future."

Cyborg swallowed. "So, I'll see you now but lose you again?" He asked, his voice trembling.

"No." Sasha told him firmly. Cyborg looked up at her, shocked at the intensity in her voice. "This was one life. My life. Just one of many futures. You haven't lived your life yet. The only thing that he had in common with you was when we met again. He lived his life, made his choices. You have yet to make yours."

Cyborg nodded, his face still tight. Without thinking, he pulled her in for a hug and though startled, she returned it. "I can't stay, can I?" He murmured into her hair.

He couldn't see her face but he could hear her sad smile. "With me? Victor, I'm old enough to be your mother now. I'm not your Sasha anymore. I can't be." She gently but firmly pulled out of his hug. "I think this is just a reminder for you."

"Of what?" Cyborg asked, his voice laced with pain. "Of your face? Of being with you?"

"Not to give up." She cupped his face again, this time taking both sides. "Not to give up Cyborg. To wait, wait for me. Go back, live and wait, for it will get better."

Cyborg swallowed, and without realising it stepped away. He could feel the vision fading, could feel the pull. "I'll go. I don't have much of a choice, do I?"

"No." Sasha agreed with a grin but tears were in her eyes again. She took his hand, almost desperate for one last touch. "You don't. Good-bye Victor."

"Not good-bye. I'll be with you again." He told her softly. They drifted apart and her hand slipped from his. She soon faded into nothing, leaving Cyborg once again in his room.

He looked around, standing on his own. The candle was gone, no oil or ash left behind. The note that Cyborg remembered being left in the kitchen was there instead, only the writing was different. Cyborg picked it up and when his fingers touched it, the paper crinkled and aged, if only for a moment and a different writing appeared. He opened it carefully, hardly daring to apply pressure for fear that it would rip. There was only one line but the line made him gasp and drop the paper.

As if fell, the words left behind, _wait for me, my love_ ,slowly faded out of sight, burnt forever in the back of Cyborg's mind.

TTGTTGTTGTTG

Raven toured the stacks of books, Beast Boy following behind her and looking impatient. He was holding his coffee and her tea from the store's coffee shop and asked her in an exasperated tone, "Again?"

Raven rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Beast Boy, this isn't a library. I can't read a book and return it if I don't like it. I don't want to waste my money on a book I'm not going to read. Why don't you look for a book if you're bored?"

"Their comic section is rather limited." He muttered.

Raven frowned. "Beast Boy, I know you enjoy your comics but you're smarter than that. You shouldn't just limit yourself to comic books."

Beast Boy scowled before looking away. "What else does a dyslexic read?" He demanded.

Raven stared at him, shocked. "Beast Boy!" She snapped. "Do you realised what you said? People with dyslexia overcome it with help and can read just fine. It takes them some effort but it doesn't rule their lives. Haven't you tried?"

"Tried?" He yelled, his anger finally boiling over. "Raven, I've fought it for ten years! Both my parents were scientists and the best in their field and their only son can't read Sally, Dick and Jane! Do you really think I haven't tried? I even bought books about it."

Raven stared at him, realisation sinking in. "You could have asked for help," She said weakly.

Beast Boy gave a dark chuckle. "Hi, I'm dyslexic, could you sit down and read to me until I learn how?" He asked her sarcastically.

Raven swallowed heavily and looked away. Now she understood. Who could he have asked? Robin would have demanded to know why it wasn't brought up sooner and have no patience to teach, Cyborg would have teased him without mercy, Starfire didn't understand English well enough to help and Raven knew she would have thought Beast Boy was joking or trying to get her attention.

Beast Boy was still angry and went to storm away when Raven stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. "Beast Boy, I-"

"Here's your tea. Sorry that I brought this up." Beast Boy told her, thrusting her drink at her.

"Beast Boy I'm sorry." Raven spilled out. "I had no idea we made it that hard for you. I wouldn't have denied you help if I knew you were serious."

Beast Boy looked at her for a moment, before turning away. "I wasn't asking for pity." He told her tightly.

"I wouldn't offer it. But I would offer you help." She told him. "We don't have time before leaving but if we did, I'd sit you down right now. Talk to me when this is over. We'll get this sorted out."

Beast Boy looked at her, face untrusting but eyes almost daring to hope. "Promise?" He asked.

Raven gave him a warm smile, something she didn't do often and gently took his hand, leading him out of the book shop. "Promise." She told him.

TTGTTGTTGTTG

Cyborg stood with the group's luggage as they trickled back into the Tower. Robin and Starfire arrived first, both very surprised to be greeted by a warmly smiling Cyborg. "You look pretty cheerful." Robin commented, trying to keep the surprise out of his voice.

"You'd be surprised what a day off will do for a guy." Cyborg told him with a wry grin. "I got Jynx and Kid Flash settled in, so I just charged up and finished packing. I had most of the day just to sit alone. It was... enlightening."

Robin glanced at Starfire, who gave him a shrug. Neither one of them had any idea what their friend was talking about but were quite content to let him be. "Well, glad to see you enjoyed your day. Any sign of Beast Boy or Raven?"

"Nope. Figure Green Bean's going to be coming in alone though." Cyborg grinned. "You know him and Raven. Wouldn't be surprised if they fought and are taking their sweet time coming home."

"I'd agree with the later thought but I doubt that they'll be coming home alone." Krandu told him, materialising behind the metal man. Cyborg jumped a foot in the air in surprise, which Krandu didn't seem to notice as he continued, "There has been a shift between those two. Possibly because of changes with both recently. I think you will all be in for a surprise."

"Man, what is with you? You are like a creepy ninja." Cyborg complained.

"My apologies. I thought that with a teammate like Robin you would be used to stealth." Krandu shrugged. "Anyway, I thought you should know the enchantress and the speedster are off patrolling, so I think it would be wise if we were to leave soon. I would assume that after a day all to yourselves you are more rested?"

Starfire and Robin looked at each other and blushed. Cyborg's jaw dropped and Krandu chuckled. "Well, that answers my question. I would recommend that you grab what bags I missed now, since Cyborg already gave me his. I'll have to have everything ready for when we cross. It will also save you from Cyborg's questions." The couple took the blatant escape and took off to grab their bags. Cyborg's jaw was still open while he watched them leave.

"I'll be damned." Cyborg muttered. He turned to Krandu and ran an embarrassed hand across the back of his head. "I uh... I think I owe you thanks."

"For what?" Krandu asked, looking surprised.

"The candle." Cyborg told him. "That was you, wasn't it?"

"Oh it worked? Marvelous. I wasn't sure I could still do that. I take it you were shown what you needed?" Krandu asked him, a knowing smile on his face.

"I think so." Cyborg's smile grew a little more distant. "I can't remember everything but there's a face. And there was a note. There's someone waiting for me."

"You know that isn't a prophecy." Krandu warned him. "No matter what you saw, things could still change."

"They always change. Right now there's a chance. I'll take it." Krandu nodded and Cyborg's smile grew. "Thank you."

"No thanks needed. It was what you needed." Krandu chuckled and looked out the window. "And it looks like I was right about the other as well."

Cyborg glanced out the window but missed anyone coming in. Frowning, he flicked open a monitor on his arm and looked from the entrance of the Tower. To his surprise, Beast Boy and Raven walked in, both with bags full of things he didn't recognise, holding hands and laughing.

He did a double take at that. Raven, with Beast Boy, laughing?

He looked over at Krandu, who shrugged with a knowing smile. "I would advise not commenting, just for the sake of survival. Raven would not want any attention drawn to her at the best of times."

Cyborg nodded grimly. "I like my head where it is. And I don't want to hurt Green Bean."

Krandu gave him a nod and a smile before his face shifted back into neutral emotion. The doors slid open and Raven was still giggling as she and Beast Boy walked in together. The two didn't even seem to notice Krandu and Cyborg waiting for them in the common room. The two dropped their hands and stepped away from each other blushing. Cyborg pretended not to notice and told them, "We're clearing out soon. Krandu and I grabbed all the bags we found but you two should grab anything we missed."

Raven raised an eyebrow. "You guys went in my room?" She asked.

Krandu looked at her with his head tilted. "I was not supposed too? My apologies."

Raven rolled her eyes. "I suppose I have to forgive you, since you didn't know. But," her mouth actually formed a teasing smile, much to everyone's surprise, "if you should enter my room again you will not enjoy the consequences."

"Duly noted," Krandu told her. "Now perhaps you two should go and finish your packing as you two have to leave. We are on a bit of a deadline you know."

Cyborg nodded and gently nudged Beast Boy and Raven towards their rooms. When both of them, finally taking the hint and left Cyborg turned and looked at Krandu with a very confused face. "How did you do that?" Cyborg demanded.

"Do what?" Krandu asked, looking confused and mildly annoyed. "Why is it that everyone accuses me when events happen around me?"

"Maybe because when you show up weird things start happening?" Cyborg retorted. "Come on man, you show up and Robin starts acting like a better boyfriend and he and Star sleep together twice in a 24 hour period. Raven now seems to be tolerating and even seeming to enjoy Beast Boy's company even if he's starting to make doe eyes at her and none of this would have happened if you hadn't been here."

Krandu gave a sad chuckle, "As much I would like to believe that I am the be all end all, all of this would have happened if I hadn't been here though I albeit more slowly. All I did was raise issues that were already there and force you to deal with them. Most of my advice could be given by any outside observer and the rest by anyone who'd ever been in a relationship. So all my presence did is speed things up. I am not a hostile here and do not wish you or any of the Titans harm."

Cyborg did not look pleased with that but held his peace, not finding any reason to argue. The argument also faded when the Titans returned, carrying very little extra with them. Krandu nodded to them and asked, "Are you prepared? Know that once you enter into my world that the crossing between is difficult and I cannot send you back and forth multiple times, once you are there it will not be easy to come back." The titans looked at each other and nodded. Krandu nodded in return and conjured a knife out of thin air. "All right," he told them, drawing the knife across his hand, "We go." Before the Titans could respond to either the blood or the knife, Krandu flicked his hand and blood sprayed across the portal. Again the portal responded differently, appearing in a faint red haze before slowly fading into a black opening that hovered before them. They were not sucked in per say but all the Titans could feel a gentle pull calling them in and with no means to fight it, they marched in to the portal and the darkness beyond.

TTGTTGTTG

Raven gave a groan as she sat up, holding her head in her hands. "What was that?" She wondered before feeling something drip down her face.

Frowning she wiped the liquid off and tried to determine what it was. Her frown only deepened when she realised that it was dark enough that she couldn't see her hand well enough to tell anything beyond that it was wet.

The empath's head shot up as she heard groans from all around her. She recognized the sounds as her friends and relaxed a bit when she realised that the groans were just them waking up as well.

"Everyone all right?" Robin demanded and a general affirmative response followed. "Ok, good to hear. We need to be able to see. Cyborg?"

"Gonna take a minute Rob. My whole system went down." Cyborg told him. A light green glow illuminated the area as Starfire lit up her hand.

Everyone stared at her and she shrugged. "What? It is not like friend Cyborg is the only one who can created light."

"Star?" Beast Boy asked her slowly. "What are you covered in?"

Starfire glanced down at herself and frowned. "I do not know. I am covered in something that turns an odd shade in green light, and smells like it is made of much iron." She looked around the room and told the Titans, "You are all covered in it as well."

Beast Boy suddenly got to his feet, a low growl in his throat. "Everyone get up. Now!"

"Beast Boy what-" Robin started to ask before Beast Boy cut him off.

"We're covered in blood and Krandu is nowhere to be seen. We need to get up now!"


End file.
